Nonfiction Book Reviews

I picked up The Polar Bear Waltz and Other Moments of Epic Silliness by the editors of Outside magazine because really, who could resist that cover photo? I thought it looked like a book I could get a kick out of, which would be a nice counterpart to some of the dark and depressing books that I read.

First, the idea behind the book:

The editors of Outside magazine put together a “Parting Shot” concept for their magazine, where each issue ended with a funny, mind-boggling, and/or breath-taking picture. Unlike most pictures in magazines where there are captions to explain what’s happening in the picture (or at least supply a funny line) these pictures are left to stand by themselves. The editors had this to say on the back flap of the book:

In many cases, the situations are so surreal or outrageous that they beg for more explanation. Yet at the same time, the viewer understands that captions would be a letdown, for the imagination supplies a better narrative.

I don’t know if I agree - there were more than a couple that I would have loved for some sort of explanation, but overall, I have to admit that it was fun to come up with my own ideas of what was happening in the picture.

Most of the photos were fantastic - I especially loved the one of the video camera sticking out of the mouth of a lion, taken in Kenya - but there were a couple of duds where I wondered what the editors were thinking. Who found that funny, and why?

The Polar Bear Waltz is short (less than 100 pages), with only 67 pictures, and no captions, so it ends up being a 10 minute look through, something to chuckle over, share with anybody sitting nearby, and then forget about by noon tomorrow. Don’t buy this one - if you really want a pick-me-up, check it out of the library and save yourself the money.

3.5 stars out of 5

Hava

Earth: The Biography by Iain Stewart and John Lynch was intellectually stimulating.  I know that sounds boring, but just stick with me here.

I had it sitting on my bookshelf for forever (I won’t tell you how long because my boss at work reads this blog sometimes, but believe me, it was a while) and I decided that I was going to clear off all of the books on that shelf that have been there too long.  A clean start with the New Years, and all that.

Boy am I glad I did.  I love it when I read a book, and walk away having a better understanding of how the universe as a whole works.  I knew, in a fuzzy sort of way, that nature is intricately intertwined, and that the world is one giant balancing act, but I don’t think I truly understood it until I read this book.

I think the best part of this book is how it makes the connections between various sciences.  It isn’t just about space, or the beginning of life, or the ocean, or volcanoes, or hurricanes, it’s about all of this and more.  It’s like the joke we’ve all heard a million times, about the blind men who were each trying to describe an elephant, but were only describing the part that they themselves could feel.  Although each blind man was technically getting it right, it’s only when you combine the trunk with the tail, ears, legs, and body that you actually know what an elephant looks like.

I feel like I’ve been learning about each individual part of this world, without being able to “see the big picture.”  Earth: The Biography has shown me the big picture.

This book becomes a grand slam when you add in the beautiful pictures and great writing style.  I was never bored nor lost even once while reading, which you have to admit is quite the feat, considering I am not a geologist (nor do I play one on TV).

Here’s a quotation I loved:

In his book Time’s Arrow, Time’s Cycle, the esteemed American paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould offered perhaps the most resonant of metaphors, compressing 4.5 billion years of planetary history into a 24-hour day.  Our planet’s birth takes place on the stroke after midnight, and the “Cambrian explosion” - in which complex animals first start crawling about - doesn’t happen until 10 p.m. 

Dinosaurs don’t show up until after 11 p.m. and are snuffed out 20 minutes before midnight, while modern humans arrive on the scene in the last two seconds of the day.  Human civilization - some 6,000 years of empire, art, religion, and politics - is squeezed into the last tenth of a second.

Talk about mind-boggling.

Earth almost makes me wish we could really go hog wild and actually get cable television, so I could watch the National Geographic channel.  I think I’d really like it.  Unfortunately, I can just see me spending lots of time watching junk instead, so we’d better not.  I am a reader, through and through, so perhaps I wouldn’t get as much out of the National Geographic channel as I do the books anyway.

Earth: The Biography wins the rare 5 out of 5 stars rating from me.

Hava

Hubble: The Mirror on the Universe by Robin Kerrod & Carole Stott is a flat-out gorgeous book.  I picked it up because the front cover was eye catching and because my inner child still wants to grow up and be an astronaut.

And I fell in love with it from page one.  I have always been a huge astronomy fan, starting from when I would take long walks with my father out in the desert. We’d look at the different constellations, with him giving me info on each one.

So it’s not surprising that I’d be interested in a book about the Hubble telescope.  What is surprising is how much I learned from the book, and how much I enjoyed reading it.  Some of the pictures taken by Hubble are jaw dropping.  Spread over two pages, they are colorful, gorgeous snapshots of deep space.

The pictures are the best part of this book, but that’s not to say that the text isn’t interesting.  The book was loaded with everything from black holes to pulsar stars, and the history behind each discovery.  I felt as if I had taken an in-depth astronomy class by time I finished reading the book.  Even better, it wasn’t dry, boring facts, just thoroughly engrossing reading.

I was really excited to find a site online that allowed me to download a picture from the inside of the book.  Now granted, this picture isn’t one of the larger ones, and it isn’t as colorful as some of the other pictures, and it’ll definitely lose something in translation (from the book to the website to my computer to my website to your computer - whew!!) but at least it gives you an idea of what the book offers.

Isn’t that a cool picture?  One of the things that I was excited to find out is that none of the pictures in the book were “touched up” to provide brighter or more eye-catching colors.  All of the pictures were published exactly how the galaxies look in outer space.  I had no idea our universe was so colorful!

So whether you’re a homeschooling mom who wants to do a section on space, or just someone with even a mild interest in astronomy and the universe, you really need to pick this one up!  I honestly cannot think of a single thing to change about it.  I enjoyed the book from beginning to end.

A rare 5 out of 5 stars for Hubble: The Mirror on the Universe.  Kudos to Robin Kerrod and Carole Stott for a job well done.

Havs

Today is the opening ceremonies for the Olympics in China, so of course, I had to review a book about China. China: People, Place, Culture, History was the book I chose, and I’ll admit: I chose it because it had a beautiful cover. I know there’s that old saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” but in this case, that would have meant me missing out on a gorgeous book.

China: People, Place, Culture, History was definitely meant to be a coffee table book. Large, with a woven red cover and gold lettering, it’s an eye-catching book. But coffee table destiny or no, this book was crammed full of beautiful photos, great history, and interesting information. It’s thick (355 pages) and so chock-full of information, it could take a dedicated reader several weeks to get through the whole book.

It starts out focusing on geography by publishing a single photo spread out over two pages.  The first whole chapter is set up this way.  Some of the vistas were breathtaking, and some of them reminded me of Idaho, which is strange, because I never associated that kind of geography with China.

I guess with a country as large as China (it is roughly the same size as America) you’re going to have a lot of variation in geography. I had just honestly never thought about it, and imagined the whole country to be one large bamboo forest interspersed with lots of rice paddies and huge cities. Boy, was I wrong!

To accompany the photos, there was a small paragraph that explained the photo, and a Chinese poem that somehow related to the picture. It was a fun way to start off the book, and I felt like I had had a great visual tour of China.

China: People, Place, Culture, History then switches to history, and gives a timeline for important Chinese dates, a section lasting 45 pages. Although dry historical dates and facts tend to be boring, they did a great job of spicing it up with photos and sidebars with more in-depth information.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at how well done the book was - I looked and realized that the book was written by DK Publishing, the same company that does the Eyewitness Series for kids (I reviewed the Titanic: Discover the Luxury of this Famous Ship by them.) I had thought DK Publishing only did kids’ books, so that was fun to see.  After realizing that, I started to pay attention while at work, and realized that quite a few “coffee table books” have been done by DK.  I somehow missed that along the way…

China also covers people, culture, and architecture in their own sections, with enough information on each that you’ll feel like a grad student in Chinese culture by time you’re done. For any homeschooling families who reading this and are interested in studying China, I highly recommend that you check this book out of the library (or buy it) and make it a large part of your studies. I think all of the photos will help keep even the younger kids interested.

Overall, I give China: People, Place, Culture, History 4.5 out of 5 stars. Great job, DK Publishing!

Hava

PS My coworker said that the Chinese chose to start the Olympics today because 08-08-08 is considered to be a “lucky day” for the Chinese.  I have no idea if that’s true or not, but it is a pretty cool date, regardless.

In honor of Independence Day, I decided that there was no better book that could I read and review than 1776: The Illustrated Edition, David McCullough’s account of the momentous year that our nation first declared its independence.

I had not read 1776 before picking up the illustrated edition from the library, so you’ll want to bear that in mind when reading my review.  I actually have 1776 on my bookshelf (given to me by my older brother several years ago) but I just never got around to reading it.  I spied the illustrated edition at the library a couple of weeks ago, and thought it just looked too cool to pass up. I’m so glad I checked it out!

1776: The Illustrated Edition is a large book - over a foot tall and almost 2 inches thick - but it needs that much space to hold all the author wanted to contain.  In a rare move, the book contains 10 different envelopes with a total of 61 pieces of paper that the reader can take out and peruse at their leisure.  Copies of maps, letters, and important documents are in the envelopes, and you get the feel that you’re on an archival mission, digging up scraps of paper from the past that are an important part of our history.  It’s really quite cool.

Along with the envelopes and papers, there are also pictures on almost every page of the book - portraits painted of various generals and leaders, or maps drawn by spies of where encampments were made…It’s a visual feast that I thoroughly enjoyed.  It was fascinating for me to read the ledger kept by George Washington as commander-in-chief, and to see the entries made where he paid for spies to collect information.

With all of this visual information, it would have been incredibly easy to go light on the text, but honestly, the story was even more intriguing to me than the pictures.  I read the book in two days, which is really fast even for me, but I just had to know “what happened next.”  I told my husband that, and he drolly replied, “We won the war, honey.” Thanks, babe.

Mr. McCullough has an absolutely amazing ability to make his readers feel as if they are living what he’s saying.  The story of taking Boston from the British literally had me on the edge of my seat.  It was a daring exploit that could have so easily gone wrong.  After I finished that story, I thought, “That was like the plotline for a Hollywood blockbuster!”

It was Mr. McCullough’s storytelling abilities that made me feel that way.  I’m definitely going to be reading more of his books, including 1776.  I’ll make sure to review it on here when I do.

Meanwhile, 1776: Illustrated Edition was just the reminder I needed this 4th of July that the founders of this country sacrificed and struggled and died so we could be free.  Several people, including George Washington, talk about how they are fighting for the millions who are yet unborn, so they could have freedom.

They fought for me.

I have never been so thankful for America and our founding fathers, as I was when I finished this book.

5 out of 5 stars.  For the budding historians out there, or anyone interested in American history, this book is an absolute cannot miss.

Hava

The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World by Jacques Bosser and Guillaume de Laubier is a gorgeous, picture-packed display of beautiful libraries that had me drooling from page one.  I work at the local public library, and I love the way it looks - windows that stretch floor to ceiling, high archways, polished wood - but after I started reading this book, I realized how plain my library looks in comparison to these libraries.

Of course, my library isn’t built using the overblown Baroque style like many of the libraries featured in this book.  And by the end of the book, I was more appreciative of the simpler style of building anyway - many of these libraries are over-the-top dripping with cornices, embellishments, statues, swags, paintings, busts, intricate wood reliefs, and marble carvings.  Just looking at the pictures in the books left me overwhelmed - it was so busy, your eye never really had a chance to rest on any particular spot.

I can’t imagine how overwhelming these libraries must be in real life.

I definitely enjoyed flipping through the book, though.  There were quite a few pages where the page folded out, giving you an almost panoramic view of the library, and some of the pictures were breathtaking.  The photographer, Guillaume de Laubier, is to be congratulated for his excellent photography skills.  The author, on the other hand (Jacques Bosser) could have used some help along the way.  Some of the text was interesting, but for the most part, it was dry and boring.  I started skipping the text entirely and just looking at the pictures.

My other quibble with the book was the title implied that they had pulled libraries from every part of the world, but in fact, the only libraries featured were from Europe and America.  I have a hard time with the idea that the only beautiful libraries in the entire world reside in Europe and America.

What about Mexico? Or Canada? Or Brazil? (Click to make larger)

I think they need to rename it The Most Beautiful Libraries in Europe, leave out the American libraries, and call it good. There were only three libraries from America featured anyway. Then write another book and focus just on American libraries - after all, all of these gorgeous libraries had been left out:

Boston Copley Public Library, Boston, Massachusetts

Suzzallo Library, Seattle, Washington

George Peabody Library, Baltimore, Maryland

For the true bibliophiles out there, this book is worth checking out from the library, if only so you can drool over the pictures and wish that you could wander these halls and lose yourself in the stacks.  But even for the bibliophiles, I don’t know if this one is worth buying.  I can only give it 3.25 out of 5 stars - I wanted to love it, but it fell short of my expectations.

Hava

The Sound of Music Companion by Laurence Maslon was a fantastic book for Sound of Music aficionados like me.  I had just finished reading Home: A Memoir of the Early Years by Julie Andrews, when I saw this book at the library.  I picked it up and read it cover to cover in just a couple of days.  It’s meant to be a coffee table book, true, but it also provides a ton of interesting information.

I had read and watched specials on the Fox version of The Sound of Music with Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, so most of that information was not new to me.  I hadn’t heard or read as much about the von Trapp family themselves, so I learned new information there, but by far the most new info came when I was reading about the various theater productions of the musical.  I hadn’t realized that so many different versions had been done, and so I got a much more rounded picture of how The Sound of Music became the international powerhouse that it did.

Some of the stories about Maria von Trapp were eye-opening to me - she could be a difficult lady to get along with, and the producers of the movie did their best to avoid her at all costs.  And Christopher Plummer seemed like quite the stinker - he looked down his nose at the whole movie as being too cutesy and sugary for him.  His character was aloof and proud in the movie, and apparently that wasn’t much of a stretch for him.  “Inside stories” like that and more made the book a page turner for me.

The pictures are huge, colorful, and beautiful, and the information was well laid out.   For any huge Sound of Music fans out there, I strongly suggest picking this book up at Barnes and Noble and adding it to your collection.  And to everyone else, if you’re simply interested in learning a little more about this global phenomenon, the pictures alone make this book worthwhile.

4.75 stars out of 5

Havs

The World’s Worst Cars: From Pioneering Failures to Multimillion Dollar Disasters by Craig Cheetham was a depressing book. I picked it up because I thought it looked interesting - something my father would like. He always gravitates towards books on mechanical things like tractors and pickups, and I thought this would be another good one for him to read. I checked it out of the library and sent it home to him, and he returned it with a note, “This book was depressing.” Surprised, I asked him why. He said, “It was page after page of cars that didn’t work, and why they didn’t work, and there just wasn’t anything uplifting or happy in the whole book.” I thought depressing was a strong word for a nonfiction book on cars, so I figured I’d read it and see what I thought, instead of just turning it back into the library as I had originally planned.

Turns out, my dad was right (see Dad, I do say that sometimes! :-P) - this book was depressing. I also didn’t agree with it entirely. My great-grandmother’s car was in there - the Chevy Nova. Not that I was in love with that car, but considering she’d had it since it was brand new off the lot from ‘70 all the way up in 2004, I think you’d be hard pressed to say it wasn’t reliable. It also listed the Ford Explorer because of the fiasco with Firestone tires, but the American public has a short memory, and if the amount of Explorers on the road is any indication, people have gotten past their fear of driving that SUV.

The cover is fun (it shows the Reliant Robin, a three wheeled car that tipped when you went around corners too fast) and the premise is great too. But don’t plan on sitting down and reading it cover to cover any time soon - it’s much too depressing for that. If you’re a car buff and want a book for your coffee table, this one might be good to generate comments during dinner parties, but that’s about it.

2.25 out of 5 stars.

Havs